MzTeachuh is a daily blog providing educational links for professional development, timely articles for special needs, ed tech and STEM, as well as interesting and amusing posts in the Fine Arts and the Humanities.

This is one of four paintings of sunflowers dating from August and September 1888. Van Gogh intended to decorate Gauguin's
room with these paintings in the so-called Yellow House that he rented
in Arles in the South of France. He and Gauguin worked there together
between October and December 1888.
Van Gogh wrote to his brother
Theo in August 1888, 'I am hard at it, painting with the enthusiasm of a
Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won't surprise you when you
know that what I'm at is the painting of some sunflowers. If I carry out
this idea there will be a dozen panels. So the whole thing will be a
symphony in blue and yellow. I am working at it every morning from
sunrise on, for the flowers fade so quickly. I am now on the fourth
picture of sunflowers. This fourth one is a bunch of 14 flowers ... it
gives a singular effect.'
The dying flowers are built up with thick brushstrokes (impasto).
The impasto evokes the texture of the seed-heads. Van Gogh produced a
replica of this painting in January 1889, and perhaps another one later
in the year. The various versions and replicas remain much debated among
Van Gogh scholars.http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/vincent-van-gogh-sunflowers
To see this painting in person is a remarkable experience; it has a presence, like a friend happy to see you.

My life is enhanced because I, by chance, was born an American.

I have an education provided by the State of California, and enriched by
the federal government; using scholarships and grants to be a teacher.

I, by the grace of God, own a home, three vehicles (two running), various investments, and two retirements which puts me in the lower middle class, I think.
I will vote on many propositions, and in the general election; and I am free to express an opinion.
I have access to more information than I ever imagined, and can communicate with the entire world through the internet.
I choose my beliefs and express them openly in public worship.
I have a passport and can freely travel internationally because I am an
American citizen. I can travel within my country between the states,
whenever I wish.
I reasonably expect no harassment for my gender, race (ethnicity), age, or religion (beliefs.)
I can marry whom I wish, and have as many or few children as I want,
although the number of pets in my family is limited by the town in which
I live.
I can own and register a firearm, if I wish.
I can expect privacy of my personal information and in my home. And my vehicles, too.
I can leave whatever I wish to whomever I wish in a Last Will and Testament.
I have been free to research my ancestors and discovered I am a Girl of
the World--but my pedigree would never indicate I deserve these rights
and freedoms, except maybe a few British nobility escaping Cromwell. My
people were not the fortunate sons and daughters. They were slaves,
indentured servants, ne'er-do-wells, adventurers, seekers of religious
freedom, Native Americans, and the last of the immigrants to America was
a very good little teenaged Irish girl who was trained by Victorian
Catholic nuns to be an excellent dressmaker.
It is true, I have chosen to obey the laws of the land, and, to the best
of my ability, fulfill my educational, professional, and civic
expectations. However, I am still very grateful for these opportunities.

Orvis, age 21, will be shot in the lung one week after this picture was taken by Matthew Brady in Washington, DC. His younger siblings on the family farm in upstate New York (he volunteered from St. Alban's, Fifth Vermont) grew up and after the Civil War moved West to Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and California to become lawyers, Congressmen, ambassadors, journalists and teachers. His father, Haviland Livingston Sweet, died earlier in the War. Their sacrifice was not in vain.

He volunteered while working at a Print Shop in Vermont, where his family had lived on Grand Isle for generations since the Revolutionary War. His ancestors were Pilgrims and Wampanoags.

He was a regular kid who lived and died for great things.

He fought with his unit through all the major battles of the Civil War, being mortally wounded in the Second Battle of the Wilderness. If you ever watchedKen Burns' documentary on the Civil War, you know how that one was particularly hellish.http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/One of Orvis' younger sisters was Alice Eliza Sweet Link, my great grandmother; she went West after the Civil War and became a teacher.

We've always called it barbeque. Maybe its a western thing. Mesquite wood, secret recipe barbeque sauce.

I'm surprised there's not a cooking show called Barbeque Wars.

Here in the desert, don't have to worry so much about bugs--Avon's Skin
So Soft is a great insect repellant, BTW. And if you are a vegetarian, don't
ever feel left out. Apparently anything can be barbequed.

About Me

Melanie Link Taylor is an educator and edu blogger in Southern California, credentialed in both General Education and Special Education. She teaches English Literature, Language and Composition to Grades 7-12 at Victor Valley Christian School in Victorville, California.
Melanie guest blogs on educational sites, and is an Edutopia facilitator, a commentor on BAM Radio, member of ISTE, and a Teach100 mentor.
She received her B.A. in English, and minor in Art, from Mount St. Mary's University in Los Angeles, and her M.A. in Special Education from Chapman University.
She also cultivates the Melanie Link Taylor Teaching Garden and Wildlife Habitat in Southern California.